New Dawn

Summary:
It is about 50 years after Breaking Dawn. Everything remains the same with the Cullen family, except I’ve added one new character to it. His name is Damien. Brief back story: He was made into a vampire in 1824 when he was 18. He joined the Cullen family after Esme did. The story explores the relationship between a 17-year-old girl named Mabel and Damien. We realize, almost from the start, that Damien isn't the only one with a secret. The pace progresses rather happily at first, but gets a bit dicey in later chapters. Reviews and criticism are very welcome and appreciated, thank you!

Notes:
I’d like to apologize in advance for any mistakes in this story. If I get anything wrong, do let me know and I’ll do my best to fix it. Cheers. (And obviously, I do not own copyright to the Twilight series. Stephenie Meyer does. I just decided to write this fan fiction for the fun of it. I have the core of the story in my head – everything else, I’m just making up as I go along.)

14. Chapter 14 - A Christmas Surprise

I was looking forward to spending Christmas with the Cullens. I had a frustrating time getting gifts for them – what do you give vampires and a shape-shifter who already had it all? – but I think I did alright.

Little did I know that they had a surprise in store for me.

I woke up on Christmas Eve morning to find that I was alone in bed. That was odd. Damien’s face was usually the first thing I saw every day.

I got out of bed with a yawn and plodded to the bathroom to take my morning shower. It was only after I had dressed when I realized that I hadn’t run into a single person.

I walked downstairs hesitantly. “Hello?”

“In the kitchen!” I heard Esme call.

I mentally wiped my brow with relief. For a second, I thought everyone had left.

I went into the kitchen. “Where’s –” I began and stopped short. Carlisle and Esme were standing behind the counter. But that was not what stunned me.

“Mom? Pa?” I croaked as I found my family in the Cullens’ kitchen. My older brother, Matt, was grinning at me while my seven-year-old twin brother and sister, Madison and Morgan, bounced up and down.

“Omigosh, what are you doing here?” I squealed, finally breaking out of my stupor and running to hug them.

“Yes. You haven’t been giving Dr. and Mrs. Cullen any trouble, have you?” my father said gruffly.

“Of course she hasn’t,” Carlisle smiled, his arm around Esme’s waist. “She’s very welcome here. And so are you, for as long as you would like to stay.”

“Two weeks is fine. And thank you so much again for making this happen,” my father said gratefully.

“Dr. Cullen paid for our plane tickets,” Matt explained to me.

“Oh wow, Carlisle. You didn’t have to…” I said, moved.

“It was my pleasure,” he said, looking as though he enjoyed my reunion with my family.

“Where’s everyone else?” I wondered aloud.

“They wanted to give you some time alone with your family,” Esme answered. “Why don’t you all go to the dining room now? Breakfast has been served there.”

Carlisle took Esme’s hand and started walking away. “Let us know if you need anything.”

I turned to my family, beaming. “Come on. I have so much to tell you guys…”

I hadn’t realized how much I actually missed my family. I caught them up to speed on what was happening in my life – minus the vampire news – and learnt what they had been up to for the last three months. Of course, there had been phone calls during that time, but it just wasn’t the same.

After washing up the dishes, we went into the living room. The twins, tired from travelling, fell asleep, while Matt went to find a quiet corner to study. He was studying to be a doctor. I was so proud of him.

“Are you happy, May?” my mother asked, her eyes searching mine.

“Yes, Mom,” I assured her. “The Cullens are taking amazing care of me. They treat me like one of their own.”

“Yes, all of them know that I have leukemia. They’ve been nothing but supportive. And Damien treats me well. You’ll see when you meet him. I’m sure you’ll like him,” I said, praying that I was right.

Later that evening, the Cullen ‘kids’ returned home. My parents were a bit overwhelmed, but I think they coped pretty well.

They were, of course, enamored with Damien. How could I have ever doubted it? He could be so charming when the need called for it.

That night we had a Christmas feast. The Cullens were experts at hiding their uneaten food, and my family never suspected a thing. Besides, I thought Jacob more than made up for them.

After dinner, we adjourned to the living room where Madison and Morgan wanted to play a game. The only game I could think of was Hide-and-go-Seek as I didn’t think we had any board games in the house.

But lo and behold, Alice opened a cupboard door with a flourish, revealing dozens upon dozens of games. The twins gleefully riffled through them, much to my parents’ chagrin, and came up with Pictionary.

“No using your powers to cheat,” I muttered to Edward and Alice as we divided into two teams.

After the game, Alice and Nessie insisted on singing Christmas carols – I suspected, for the benefit of my family. So we all gathered round the piano while Edward obligingly accompanied us.

Later that night, I was snuggled in bed with Damien. (He was pretending to share Edward’s room.) I commented on how everyone was so sweet and patient with my 7-year-old siblings, especially Esme. She was absolutely over the moon about them.

“They’re all actually very excited about Morgan and Madison,” he said. “There hasn’t been a child in the family since Nessie. And she grew up so fast, there wasn’t much time to enjoy her childhood. Your brother and sister are really going to have the time of their lives here.”

“I still can’t believe you and Carlisle organized this,” I murmured, enjoying the feel of him playing with my hair. “Thank you.”

“It was a stroke of genius, wasn’t it?” he agreed with a wink. “Besides, I thought that it was about time I met your parents. After all, you’ve met mine.”

I dove at him in mock retaliation to attack his ribs, even though I knew he wasn’t ticklish. We wrestled for a while with me giggling at my failed attempts to pin him down. And then I found myself straddling him.

My hair hung down, creating a private cocoon for us.

“Hello, world,” I whispered.

---

As Damien had predicted, Madison and Morgan were having a blast. Presents were lavished on them on Christmas Day, and they were just as thrilled – if not more so – at the snow.

Emmett and Rosalie showed them how to make snow angels and snow men. They were the twins’ favorite people of the Cullen family. Emmett was such a kid himself and Rosalie seemed to be enjoying the novelty of having children around.

Matt had found a new hero in Carlisle. He had so many questions about medicine and Carlisle’s experience of being a doctor. Carlisle was pleased with Matt’s enthusiasm and brought him round the hospital a few times.

My parents were trying to get used to the new environment, but were having a great time too. I couldn’t remember the last time they had a vacation.

Esme and Carlisle had another surprise for my parents. They had arranged for my parents to travel to Crystal Mountain via a private jet, to stay for three nights at a high-class resort.

Knowing how uncomfortable my parents would be about the gift, Carlisle and Esme told them about how they had planned the trip for a long time, but couldn’t go because Carlisle had to work unexpectedly at the hospital.

I was speechless at their generosity and teared up when Esme said, “You’re part of the family, Mabel. That makes your family ours as well.”

The two weeks flew by like it was just a day. Before I knew it, it was time for my family to leave.

Saying goodbye to my family was hard. What do you say to the people you’ve known all your life, who love you so much, they were willing to let you live halfway across the world?

I watched forlornly as the plane took off from the airport. Only when I couldn’t see it anymore did I turn into Damien’s arms and cry.